Orion Building
Encyclopedia
The Orion Building is a 90 metres (295 ft) tall high rise residential building on Navigation Street, Birmingham
5, England
. Construction of the tower began in 2004 with demolition of the previous building on the site, and was completed in 2007. As part of the development, the original façades of some of the previous buildings have been retained and incorporated into the lowrise sections of the complex. The complex consists of a 28 storey tower with five basement floors. It includes the city's first penthouse
which was sold for £1.65 million. The fourth and final phase of the building, being marketed as 'Sirius', is nearing completion.
and construction on the site stopped. Carillion quit their involvement on the scheme and Taylor Woodrow
took over with construction recommencing soon after. Before construction of phases 1 and 2 commenced, all of the 150 apartments had been sold. The next planning application was submitted on October 10, 2002 for the second phase of the scheme. It was approved on July 8, 2003. Another planning application was submitted for the reuse of 93-97 John Bright Street, a listed building, as apartments and retail. It was submitted on June 25, 2004 and was approved on October 2, 2005. On October 5, 2004, Crosby Homes submitted a planning application to add another four floors to the tower and another storey to the block adjacent to it. Alterations were also made to the layouts of the apartments between floors 10 and 19 to provide a further 29 flats. The planning application was approved on December 16, 2004. The building was constructed in three phases with Phase 1 being the corner on Navigation Street and John Bright Street and the John Bright Street frontage. Phase 2 is a low rise element to the complex that fronts on to Navigation Street whilst Phase 3 is the main tower overlooking Suffolk Street Queensway.
The 200 apartments within the complex have been designed by John Rocha
, the fashion designer, who claims it as a "fashion first". On the ground floor, there are four retail units, one of which is occupied by Sainsbury's Local
.
The tower is illuminated at night by strips of LEDs
.
The top part of the tower is completely glass. Below this, the tower consists of strips of glass set within pre-cast concrete panels. The pre-cast concrete panels were painted in varying tones of beige after the construction. The reason for this was unknown, however in December 2006 these patches were painted over in a single colour.
newspaper named it as one of the ugliest new buildings in Britain in August 2007.
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
5, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Construction of the tower began in 2004 with demolition of the previous building on the site, and was completed in 2007. As part of the development, the original façades of some of the previous buildings have been retained and incorporated into the lowrise sections of the complex. The complex consists of a 28 storey tower with five basement floors. It includes the city's first penthouse
Penthouse apartment
A penthouse apartment or penthouse is an apartment that is on one of the highest floors of an apartment building. Penthouses are typically differentiated from other apartments by luxury features.-History:...
which was sold for £1.65 million. The fourth and final phase of the building, being marketed as 'Sirius', is nearing completion.
Planning history
The first planning application for the Orion Building was submitted on December 3, 2001 to Birmingham City Council. It was approved on April 25, 2002. Soon after gaining planning permission, the scheme encountered problems. The original contractor, Carillion, fell out with Crosby HomesCrosby Homes
Lend Lease Residential Development is the British residential development division of the Australia-based global property developer Lend Lease.-History:...
and construction on the site stopped. Carillion quit their involvement on the scheme and Taylor Woodrow
Taylor Woodrow
Taylor Woodrow was one of the largest British housebuilding and general construction companies. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index but merged with rival George Wimpey to create Taylor Wimpey on 3 July 2007.-Early years:Frank Taylor was...
took over with construction recommencing soon after. Before construction of phases 1 and 2 commenced, all of the 150 apartments had been sold. The next planning application was submitted on October 10, 2002 for the second phase of the scheme. It was approved on July 8, 2003. Another planning application was submitted for the reuse of 93-97 John Bright Street, a listed building, as apartments and retail. It was submitted on June 25, 2004 and was approved on October 2, 2005. On October 5, 2004, Crosby Homes submitted a planning application to add another four floors to the tower and another storey to the block adjacent to it. Alterations were also made to the layouts of the apartments between floors 10 and 19 to provide a further 29 flats. The planning application was approved on December 16, 2004. The building was constructed in three phases with Phase 1 being the corner on Navigation Street and John Bright Street and the John Bright Street frontage. Phase 2 is a low rise element to the complex that fronts on to Navigation Street whilst Phase 3 is the main tower overlooking Suffolk Street Queensway.
Features
John Rocha
John Rocha CBE, is a Hong Kong born fashion designer of Chinese and Portuguese descent who is based in Ireland.-Personal life:...
, the fashion designer, who claims it as a "fashion first". On the ground floor, there are four retail units, one of which is occupied by Sainsbury's Local
Sainsbury's Local
Sainsbury’s Convenience Stores Ltd is a chain of 343 convenience stores operated by the UK's third largest supermarket chain Sainsbury's. Sainsbury's Local stores have different branding and fascia to the company's supermarkets.-History:In 1998, Sainsbury’s piloted its first Local store in...
.
The tower is illuminated at night by strips of LEDs
Light-emitting diode
A light-emitting diode is a semiconductor light source. LEDs are used as indicator lamps in many devices and are increasingly used for other lighting...
.
The top part of the tower is completely glass. Below this, the tower consists of strips of glass set within pre-cast concrete panels. The pre-cast concrete panels were painted in varying tones of beige after the construction. The reason for this was unknown, however in December 2006 these patches were painted over in a single colour.
Phase 4
Phase 4, the final phase of the Orion scheme, is currently under construction. It is being marketed separate to the Orion Building and is named 'Sirius'. As of August 2008, the scaffolding and sheeting covering the façade of the structure are being removed. The construction of Sirius was aided by two tower cranes. The complex will consist of 182 one and two bedroom apartments and 8240 square feet (766 m²) in five retail units. It incorporates the Victorian façade of 99 John Bright Street. The scheme is estimated to cost £35 million.Criticism
The architecture of the Orion Building has been attacked by critics. The TimesThe Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
newspaper named it as one of the ugliest new buildings in Britain in August 2007.